Triad of Keys
by Ugly Kitten
Summary: A cowrite. Angel and David weren't your normal teenage twins, but when they find themselves on the Destiny Islands, things really go nuts. Based on Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy (VII-X), and more Disney movies. Chapter 4 is up!
1. Default Chapter

            Hi? Hello! ***Hears loud, echoing echo*** Um…to anyone who stumbles on this, I'm Angel! Welcome me back, I've been gone awhile! Here's a new story, another sweet co-write between my brother and me. David plays himself, I play myself…you get the point. 

            Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts, any of the Disney movies, or the Final Fantasy games. We do not profit from this or any other fan fiction. We write for the joy of writing.

            If you've never seen any particular Disney movie or played Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts, don't worry. Usually, I explain stuff pretty well. So, here's our new story, the _Triad of Keys_.

***

Chapter 1: By Thunder

In a world where time moves slowly, nothing seems impossible. The hearts of two children seem ordinary, seem so typical. Lying there, asleep in their cozy beds, wishing for something more. Hoping for something. Anything.

            A young girl, with high, half-heart cheeks and a gently pointed chin, peaks around the corner of a wooden doorframe. Her deep blue eyes glitter in the faint starlight coming from a small window. 

            Her large feet seemed too big for her, but still did not make a sound as she tiptoed quietly to the bedside. She stared down at a boy, the same age with the same features. The only difference between the two, besides that she was noticeably feminine, was their hair. His was a dusty blond, while hers was a deep brown. She leaned over and stared at his face, stifling giggles.

****David****

            I don't know what happened. I fell asleep and suddenly, I was falling. Falling through an endless abyss. A mysterious voice talks to me.
    
                   "So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it?" 
    
                   A black creature appears. 
    
                   "There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."
    
                   And I defeated many of these little shadows. A door appeared, so out of place I had to touch it. But when I opened it…
    
                   "The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."
    
                   I fell again, and my friends asked me strange questions, questions I thought they would know. What was I afraid of? What was most important to me? What did I want out of life?
    
                   "But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don't forget: You are one who will open the door. Only together will you succeed."

"David! David! Wake up! Mom said to get up!"

            "Lemme alone," I grumbled. 

            "Get up, kid!"

            "I'm up, I'm up."

            "We get to play Kingdom Hearts!" 

            My twin sister smiled at me. She punched me lightly (which hurt anyway) and bounced airily out of the room. I ran a hand through my hair and got up to follow her.

            "I had a really weird dream," I said.

            "Not another one, kid," said Angel, grinning goofily besides. "You want to end up like Sora, doncha? I know you. You wouldn't last in one of those other worlds. You wouldn't survive."

            I didn't answer her, but in my heart I wondered. I wondered if perhaps I would go to one of those worlds. And maybe, prove my sister wrong.

            "Come on, race ya," said Angel. She took off down the stairs, leaving me still in one mode of thought.

            Hmm…if I went to the Kingdom Hearts world, would I be another Keybearer? Would I be a wizard, like Merlin? Would I be a knight, like King Arthur? Would I be something else, like an elf or dwarf? I wondered.

            "Your journey has only yet begun," said a strange voice behind me. I turned around sharply. No one was there. 

            "Who's there?"

            "David!" Angel's faint voice reached my ears. "C'mon!"

            I walked down the stairs after my sister wondering if I was starting to hear things. 

****Angel****

My brother made his way down the stairs, totally lost in thought. I wonder what's gotten into that boy. He's a mystery, even to me. And I've known him his whole life. I'll bet he was really quiet when he was born, too. He's so quiet now. 

            "Hey, Angel," said David, messing with a lock of his dusty blond hair. I was always envious of it. It was the same length as mine (about shoulder length), but his looked better. Always had. Pictures don't lie.

            "Yeah, babe?"

            "You said that I wouldn't survive if we went to another world," he said. "What about you? Do you think you would?"

            That stopped me cold. Would I? Would I be able to survive in a different place like that? I was used to moving, of course. But going to another place, another time, not being able to see my mom or dad again? Maybe I would. Probably not.

            "Yeah, I would," I grinned. "I'm strong enough."

            "You're lying," David said.

            "I know."

            David knew me better than anyone.

****David****

            Angel and I live in Norfolk, Virginia, in a boring world. We live in the only world power on planet Earth. So, we're safe, we're sound, we lack all manner of adventure. The only thing we have is video games. Our current favorite was Kingdom Hearts, which is where our earlier conversations came from.

            Kingdom Hearts, from what I can grasp, is about Disney and Final Fantasy characters just being thrown all together into a huge story breaking off into several different ministories. What I gather is that this new character, Sora, Donald (a wizard), and Goofy (a knight), fight these evil creatures called Heartless. The only scene I've seen is the one where Sora, Donald, and Goofy join forces to find King Mickey, something to do with "Keyholes", and Sora's friends, Kairi and Riku. I also gathered that there were two other keys that were needed to complete the "locking of worlds."

            And finally, I would get to start my own game.

            The opening screen showed Sora, a fourteen-year-old boy with brown hair and large blue eyes. I heard some strange, sad music in the background. I selected "New Game" with sparkling eyes.

            The scene was uncanny with my dream. I'd never seen this before! And yet I saw the same scene unfolded. I saw Sora fall asleep and wake up to fight these strange black figures. I saw Sora's friends asking the same questions of him. Were Sora and I one in the same? Or was it just some kind of weird coincidence? Maybe I was really starting to go insane or something.

            Finally, a girl with short red hair shook Sora awake. Her name was Kairi. She reminded me of Angel, in every way. Why? Why was this all so familiar? I saved the game inside a small shack, glad that at least this didn't appear familiar.

            "David, Angel, time for bed!" Mom shouted from the kitchen. 

            "What?" I whispered. "But I just woke up!"

            "You're kidding me, right?" Angel stared at me. "It took you _eight hours_ to get to the beach!? Sure you didn't fall asleep again?"

            "I g-guess I did…" 

            And I went to bed, feeling as if I'd just woken up an hour before.

****Angel****

            "A storm!" I scampered out of bed. "David! David, it's a storm!"

            I loved storms, especially the lightning and water swells. My brother thinks it's weird that I like things that could easily kill us both, but I guess that's just me.

            "Wha? What? Did I miss something?" My tousled little brother stared at me with sleep-blurred eyes. 

            "There's a storm! Come on!"

            "And your point is?" he yawned.

            "Let's check out the river, come on," I said, pulling on a pair of carpo blue jeans. I also picked up one of my packs. I always had a simple provision bag ready in case I wanted to sleep over at Sephie's house at the last minute. They'd come in handy several times.

            I dragged my brother out of bed and shoved a pair of jeans and some other miscellaneous clothes into his hands. Grabbing a jacket and a t-shirt, both of which I'd decked out with numerous pockets, I headed out the door. 

            The minute I did, I regretted it. Sucking up anything in its path was a spiraling tornado, unheard of in the huge city of Norfolk. Wind whipped the grass at my feet and pulled me toward the black vortex. It seemed to be even more deadly and dark than others I'd seen before. David appeared at the door, unaware. I shoved him back into the house and ran as fast as I could toward the bathroom, but too late.

            The wind swiped my feet out from under me. The strap on my bag tore, but I clung on, despite whatever misgivings I had about materialism. I caught one final glimpse of my brother before the world around me went dark, for what I felt was the last time.

***

Yeah, I know, not my best work. David gets more impatient as he gets older, I think. LOL. Well, constructive criticism is nice. So's flames, but keep it PG-13. ^__^ Dee's only 10, peeps. Ja ne!


	2. Norfolk, Destiny, and Traverse

**O_O**

**Hi, everyone! Welcome to the second installment of the Triad of Keys! Review, please?**

**Chapter 2: Norfolk, Destiny, and Traverse**

****David****

            What happened? One second, I'm safe in my bed. My sister screams at me to wake up and go look at the river during a storm. That isn't so out of the ordinary, though. She loves seeing the river, especially during lightning storms. Then suddenly she's pushing me back in. More screams. Screams of terror. I grabbed onto whatever I could. My clothes, my school bag, my canteen, and a strange, round ball.

            And then…darkness. Is this what my dream meant? That going out in a lightning storm would kill me? But if I'm dead, how can I be thinking about it right now? 

            "Hey, kid! You okay?"

            "Angel?" I murmured.

            "Angel? Yo, kid, I'm Wakka. You hit your head there, ya?"

            Quite suddenly, a blinding light touched my eyes. I rolled over and blinked against harsh sunlight. Then, I saw a very familiar face. A face so familiar, I could have picked his name out, even before he told me it. Right there, in my face, was Wakka, blitzball player, guardian, warrior. 

            "Yah!" I screamed in surprise. The palm of my hand slipped in the white sand as I tried to back away from the red-haired man I knew only too well from Final Fantasy X.

            "Whoa! Kid, calm down, ya. That twister you came in on…bad news," he said. "Praise be to Yevon that you survived."

            "Uh…" I blinked at him. Shock does not describe anything. And then…"Angel!"

            "Look, kid, I already told ya, I'm Wakka."

            "No, no, she's my sister. Have you seen her? She's my twin, only she's got brown hair," I said. "She came in on the twister, too. Or…I would think so. Do you think she ended up somewhere…somewhere else?"

            "I don't know," said Wakka, shaking his head. "Sorry. Maybe you'll find her somewhere else on the island, ya?"

            "Maybe…" I said.

            "Ask Tidus," said Wakka, pointing to the bridge. "He knows everything."

            "Really?" I tilted my head. "I thought he was the clueless one."

            "Huh?"

            "Never mind," I said.

****Angel****

"Hey, are you all right?"

            A blond sunshine blocked the rays of the true sun. He was more vibrant than them, but in a different way. He smiled. I think he was glad that I was okay. I hope he was. He was too cute!

            "That storm you rode in on…awesome," he said. "What's your name?"

            "Angel," I said. "Where am I?"

            "Destiny Islands," he said. "I'm Tidus. Angel, huh? Pretty name."

            "Thanks. Um…have you seen a boy about my age? He's got blond hair, but it's dustier than yours. His name's David."

            "Nope, can't say that I have," Tidus said. "Why don't you go ask Sora? He lives over there."

            "Okay," I grinned. "Thank you." I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and skipped toward the house. Had I looked back, I would have seen the deep blush on Tidus's cute face. My addled brain didn't click until five minutes later.

            "Are you Mr. Sora?" I asked a boy as he passed by. The sun was setting and he was walking with a red-haired girl about three years younger than me. I would have sworn that Kairi would have been much shorter…and Sora, too. I wonder if I'd shrunk while I was in the tornado. But then my clothes would have, too.

            "Are you okay?" Sora stared at me.

            "Um…I feel okay, but I did just ride here in a tornado," I said. Speaking of the tornado…Why is it that I'm okay? How did I get here? The excitement of seeing Tidus, my idol, must have frazzled my brain. 

            "Oh…come on inside," Sora said. "Mom'll fix you up."

            "Okay," I smiled.

****David****

            "Are you Tidus?" 

            "Yeah, that's me," said the boy. He stared at me. "You wouldn't happen to be David, would you?"

            "Um…yeah, that's my name," I said. "Who…"

            "You're sister was here a second ago," he said. "I sent her…um…I sent her…now where did I send her? Sorry, I forget. Probably to see Riku. He's in the Secret Place right now. Dunno why. It's over there."

            "Okay…um…thanks," I said. 

            Note to self: Never trust a pure blond.

            The cave entrance to the Secret Place wasn't so secret. The short tunnel was filled with candy wrappers and bits of paper and chalk. Drawings and scribbles and "Gira loves Mikeys" were all over the wall. Kids had been coming in here for ages. It was obvious that the place was a hangout for several different groups of people, all of whom apparently had one thing in common: A false sense of secrecy.

            At the end of the tunnel was a cavern covered in more chalk and rock drawings. A boy stood in the center of the room, studying a large wooden door that definitely seemed out of place. He had silver hair and cat-like aqua eyes and stood with his weight shifted ever to one foot. This must be Riku.

            "Hey, who're you?"

            "David," I said. "Tidus said that he may have sent my sister to see you…but she isn't here…is she?"

            "No," Riku sighed. "That goofball really send you in here?"

            "Yes…"

            "Sorry. Hey, you were the one who came in on the twister, aren't you?"   

            "Yeah, me and my sister," I said. "I don't know where she ended up."

            "Knowing Tidus, anywhere," Riku said. "You can come to my house. It's getting dark. You can find your sister tomorrow. Everyone around here would have done the same anyway to your sis, so don't worry." 

            "Okay, thanks, Riku."

            "Don't mention it."

****Angel****

            Sora's mom cleaned me up and let me take a bath before giving me a pillow and blanket.  After changing into some new clothes (a hooded jacket and a pair of baggy, zip-off jeans, both decked out with pockets). His mom began making dinner for us. She gave me some things to go inside my pack, including a first aid kit and some food for later. I was rearranging the packed pack when I heard a strange voice.

            "Your journey has only just begun…"

            "Huh?" I looked around. The owner of the voice was no where to be seen. 

            A loud clap of thunder shook the house to its base. Lightning flashed and I heard a splash of violent water. I stuffed the remaining things into my pack, glad I'd fixed it.

            "Sora, Angel, dinner's ready!" 

            "Sora went out!" I shouted. "I'll go look for him."

            "Thank you, Angel."

            "Welcome!"

            I hoped that I would one day be able to bring her son back to her. It may have dawned on you that I am not having the usual reaction to finding myself in a new place, without my twin, a little smaller than I was, and a lot more cartoonish. Let me just mention that I am a self-proclaimed weirdo and there's nuttin' you can do about it. For whatever it's worth, I can tell you my friends say that my personality changes nearly every five minutes. Anyways…

            "Sora! Sora, wait for me!" I shouted.

            "Angel?"

            "Yeah," I said. "Where are we going?"

            "I'm building a raft with my friends," Sora said. "I've got to get it ashore."

            "What about them, won't they be out too?"

            "That's why I'm looking for them."

            "Okay, let's go, then."

            Sora nodded and led the way toward a bridge over the usually bright blue water. It was now pitch black, as was the sky. A ball of crackling violet energy was all that lit our path.

            On the bridge, a boy with silver hair stood in the center of a pool of the same violet lightning, unscathed. 

            "Riku! Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!"

            "The door has opened…"

            "What?"

            "The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to other worlds, just as we planned! Huh? Who's she?" Riku stared at me, unblinking.

            "That doesn't matter right now, boyo!" I shouted at him. "Where's that other girl?"
    
            "Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
    
                   "You should be!" I shouted. "You should be afraid! It will swallow you whole, don't you understand?!"
    
                   "Riku!"
    
                   The black energy engulfed him. Sora reached out to him, but it was too late. A shadow appeared between us, but a mysterious voice spoke.
    
                   "Keyblade…"
    
                   "Keybow…"
    
                   "Keyblade…"
    
                   "Keybow…"
    
                   A bright light shined like a candle in a cavern, surrounding my fist. A small bow appeared there, and a quiver of arrows attached to my pack, now brand new again. I withdrew an arrow and shot the first shadow I saw. 
    
                   "Come on, Sora, let's find your friend!"
    
                   "Right behind you!"
    
    ****David****
    
                   "Riku! Riku, where'd you go!?" 
    
                   I ran outside, only to see an enormous black space, lit only by violet lightning. Shadow creatures chased me and bit and scratched at my exposed flesh. 
    
                   "Keystaff!" shouted the mysterious voice I knew too well now. "Keystaff!"
    
                   In my hands appeared a staff, a key-shaped blade on either end. I nearly collapsed under its weight, but I swung it at the shadow creatures anyway. I ran over a green orb and discovered that some of my new scratches had healed over, at least a little bit. I saw no one else around.
    
                   "Riku! Angel! Wakka! Tidus! Anyone!"
    
                   More shadow creatures appeared and soon the darkness swallowed me whole.
    
    ****Angel****
    
                   "Where'd that silver door come from?" I said, pointing to it. I knew the answer, but I didn't voice it. I was meddling in this world far too much already to state it.
    
                   "I don't know," Sora shook his head, striking down another Shadow. My quiver was full of arrows again, so I guessed they returned or replenished or something. "Kairi might be in there."
    
                   "Then let's go."
    
                   I followed the short tunnel of the Secret Place to find the red-haired girl I knew none too well. She was still a mystery to me, even after defeating Kingdom Hearts. Kairi, the seventh princess of purest heart, awaiting the arrival of her true love, Sora. But she was weak…very weak.
    
                   "Sora…"
    
                   A black wind, blacker even than the sky outside, swept her toward him. He tried to catch her, to hold her, but the moment he touched her skin, she disappeared. As suddenly as she was gone, Sora and I found ourselves on a patch of sand. The ground had ripped itself right out of the Earth.
    
                   "Angel!"
    
                   "My brother! Sora, I heard my brother's voice!"
    
                   Sora glanced at the tiny floating earth we were on.
    
                   "Is that him?!" he pointed upward, toward the violet orb of energy pulsing just above our heads.
    
                   "DAVID!" 
    
                   My brother! The orb devoured him! The darkness of the planet's core swallowed my brother whole! I didn't have long to worry about him. The black orb dropped another form, this one an enormous black creature of some sort. I knew him from the game only as the mysterious Darkside.
    
                   "You're not taking my brother!" 
    
                   I shot every arrow in my quiver faster than the new ones could reappear. Sora struck it again and again, and with each blow, I could feel Darkside growing weaker. I could feel his strength leaving him.
    
                   Darkside exploded as soon as the last of his strength was gone, blacking out the rest of the Destiny Islands.

DUN DU DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! Yeah. Well….review? Pwease? PWEASE????


	3. Where'd She Go?

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!  
J-man, long time no chat-ee! Sorry about the detail, man. My little bro is an impatient li'l kid. I'll try and add more detail between the lines.  
MerlynGirlReincarnate-17, thank you much for your advice. I'll have to decline on the name-paragraph thingie, though. Ordinarily, I would, if I were writing this on my own. Unfortunately, this is almost entirely the work of a ten-year-old. He's a real sweet, smart little dude, but.ya know, he is only ten and can't read or write to boot. So I write it as it's coming out of his mouth. He understands it better when there are names he knows. **Shrug** Don't ask, cause I don't get it either.  
ZiggySparks, thank you! Guess what? While David is almost carbon-copy of me bro, Angel is nothin' like me! I'm terrified of storms and the dark. ^__^ Tidus is my bishi-sweetie.  
Thanks to all!! *** Chapter 3: Where Has (S)he Gone  
  
**Donald Duck**   
The day I found the king's letter, I said goodbye to my sweet Daisy. Pluto and Goofy came with me on the Gummy ship to Traverse Town. We sought the Triad of Keys, the only way to lock away the darkness that was the Heartless.  
The Triad consisted of the Keyblade, the Keybow, and the Keystaff. The Keyblade was the most vital, King Mickey said in the letter, but Goofy and I had to find all three anyway. I hoped that the man the king sent me to find would help. Leon and Cid both.  
"Look, a star's goin' out!" Goofy said, pointing to the sky. Indeed, a star shone brightly once more, like a dying child taking its last breath, before disappearing into the sky.  
"Come on, let's hurry," I said. "Where're those keys."  
"Hey, ya know, maybe we'd better go find Leon," Goofy said. Of course, I knew this, but I wanted to let the knight think he knew better than me.  
"Uh.Donald? Ya know, I betcha that-"  
"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" How wrong I was.  
"What do I know? Hmm... Come on, Pluto."  
I did notice that the king's faithful pet did not follow us, but I had more pressing matters. Such as finding the keys, maybe? Perhaps making sure that no more stars went out in that sky, high above Traverse Town?  
Goofy and I continued on. **Sora**   
A warm tongue licked my face. Kairi's pet dog always did that when she came over.  
"What a dream." I murmured.  
The dog pounced.  
"AH!" That definitely wasn't Kairi's dog! "This isn't a dream!"  
I glanced around the lonely alley I'd ended up on and faintly felt that this was probably how Angel felt when she arrived on the Destiny Islands. Speaking of whom.  
"Angel? Angel!" I looked down at the dog. "Do you know where we are? Where Angel or Kairi is?"  
The tan dog barked, his large eyes laughing. He ran away.  
"Hey.!"  
I follow him out of the alley and into a town center that definitely would never compare to the Destiny Islands. There was no sign of Angel, Kairi, Riku, or that dog.  
"This is totally weird." I murmured. "I.I'm in another world!" **Angel**   
Crickets.I hear crickets. Why are there crickets in Traverse Town? If, indeed, that's where I'd ended up. No.wait.there's only one. One lonely little cricket, playing his song. It's cold.so very cold. But someone wrapped me up in a blanket. Who? I want to thank them so much. Where am I? Why is it cold?  
"Do you think she'll be all right?" a voice asked. It was like.like the sweet sound of a lone clarinet. The crackling of a slowly growing fire reached my ears. I did not open my eyes, for fear of seeing my rescuer. What if she didn't like me? What if it was Yuffie? Or Aerith? Or a stranger, whose face I would not recognize?  
"Like I'm supposed to know?" a snippy voice said loudly. He sounded very familiar, like an old friend. "What do I look like, some kind of priest?"  
"I suppose not," sighed the woman. "What a strange tint her skin is.look how pale sh is. I wonder where she's from, if she's dangerous?"  
"I don't think so. Just look at her! She's way too young to be out on her own. 'Sides, she's hurt. What harm could she do to us?"  
"I suppose."  
I chose that moment to wake up. Whoever had taken me in from the cold, I definitely didn't want them thinking that I was evil. Or worse, a Heartless. Seriously, evil is at least a little better than a Heartless.  
"Look, she's waking!"  
"Hey, hey, kid, you all right?"  
"Mmm.what happened?" I mumbled. So much for my voice. How long had it been since I last had something to drink? "Where am I?" My eyes cracked open, and the night sky shone down on me.  
"We don't know what happened to you," said the woman. She was Asian, Chinese by the looks of her. She had short hair, which made me wonder. Chinese women almost always had long hair. Hers was shorter than mine! And were those samurai clothes she was wearing?  
"Welcome to China! Girl, what's yo'r name?" It was a dragon. A tiny dragon. It suddenly dawned on me where I really was. Imperial China, during the Hun invasion. And this was Mulan, savior of them all.  
"Um.Angel," I said. "My name is Angel."  
"I'm Ping," said Mulan, trying to sound "manly."  
"Don't worry, I already know who you are," I said. "You're Mulan. And Mushu. You ran away from home, stole your father's armor, and, from the looks of it, are still impersonating a soldier."  
"Say what? What chu talkin', girl?" Mushu shouted, nearly shooting off into the air.  
"Are you a fortune teller?" Mulan stared at me. "Or an ancestor?"  
"Erm.yeah," I nodded. "I'm a descendent of the Fa Clan.from the future. I know who you are because, Fa Mulan, you are a famous woman in Chinese history."  
"Does that mean I succeed?" Mushu blinked at me.  
"No," I shook my head. "You both succeed. I am here for guidance, as Mushu is. But I am here to train, for I seek more than just saving China. I seek the Keyhole."  
"Keyhole?"  
"I can't explain it very well," I smiled. "But for now."  
A ray of light washed over me. I was in a new world, one that I willed myself into. My skin color deepened, my clothes changed to match Mulan's, and my leather pack became a silk shoulder bag. I had assimilated into China within seconds.  
Mushu's mouth dropped open, followed closely by Mulan's.  
"Don't say a word," I said. "Mulan, my dear, we train with the imperial army today. Here," another flash of light revealed a scroll in my fist, "is my conscription notice. I am Nai Mao."  
"Well, hello, Mao," said Mulan, smiling. "I'm Ping. Nice to meet you."  
"Good," I nodded. "Now, let's head to the camp."  
And we headed for the imperial army's camp, me mentally preparing to meet Lee Shang. **David**   
"Is he all right, kupo?"  
"I hope so. Kupo, he's so small!"  
"That staff didn't do him much good, kupo."  
"Look, he's waking up, kupo!"  
"What happened?" I sat up, staring around. Little pink piglet-like creatures with red pom-poms on their heads stared right back at me. "How did I end up among a bunch of moogles?!"  
"Leave him alone, Kupo-Po," said a tall man with thick blond hair and a rough stubble. He grinned at me lopsided. "I'm Cid. You fell from the sky, kid. What happened to you?"  
"I don't know.one second I was at home, the next."  
"Ah. You must've been attacked by Heartless and you arrived here, in Traverse Town."  
"Oh," I said. "Have you seen my sister? She's my twin, she looks just like me, only she's got dark brown hair."  
"'Fraid not, kid," said Cid, frowning. "She may have ended up anywhere on this, or any other world."  
"She might not even be in Traverse Town?"  
"Maybe."  
I glanced down and sighed. What if Angel had been destroyed with the Destiny Islands? What would I do without my sister? If she wasn't here, then where was she? And what about that boy, Riku? Was he okay?  
"Don't look so down, kid," Cid said. "You'll find her. All you need is a Gummi Ship and you can go to the other worlds and look for her."  
"A Gummi Ship?"  
"Yeah-"  
Another boy, about my age, crashed into the shop.  
"Not another one!" Cid shouted. "Hey, kid, you lost, or something?"  
"I'm not a kid, and the name's Sora! And.well.yes, I am lost. Where am I?"  
That's when I took a good look at this boy. Probably feeling my eyes on him, he looked straight back. Both of us noticed the keys in our hands at the same time.  
"You have a Key, too?" we chorused.  
"What?"  
"You go first-"  
"Are you-"  
We both burst out laughing.  
"Sorry," I said. "I'm David."  
"You are? You're sister was looking for you! She came to me after the tornado brought her."  
"Tidus sent me to Riku."  
"Oh, that explains everything."  
"Except one thing," I said, sighing. "Where she is. She might even be in another world."  
"We can look for her, and Riku and Kairi, together," Sora smiled.  
"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing," said Cid. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you two. And I'll keep my eyes peeled for a girl who looks like you, kid."  
"Thanks," I grinned. *** Ya'll like the little Mulan twist I gave it? Me luv Mulan! Dunno why.I'm more into Japanese than Chinese stuffs.maybe it's the woman power thing? 


	4. Mao, Ping, and Squall

The fourth installment of Triad of Keys. I love the story behind Kingdom Hearts. ^__^ Review, everyone. Please?  
  
Chapter 4: Mao, Ping, and Squall  
  
**Angel (Mao)**  
  
"Order! People, order!" A skinny, shrimpy man, if he could be called a man, called to the troops.  
"I'll take a pan fried noodle!"  
"Ooh, sweet and pungent shrimp!"  
"That's not funny!" the man shouted. The troops all laughed anyway.  
"Soldiers!"  
Silence was immediate. All stood in a single line, including myself and Ping.  
"You will assemble swiftly and silently each morning," said Captain Li Shang, sliding out of his shirt. "Anyone who acts otherwise will answer to me."  
"Ooh, tough guy," muttered a short, chubby man beside me. His name was Yao, I think.  
"Yao," said Shang. Yup, I was right. He shot the arrow in his bow to the top of a pole. "Thank you for volunteering. Retrieve the arrow."  
"I'll get that arrow, pretty boy," he muttered. "And I'll do it with my shirt on."  
He began climbing up the pole, but Shang called him back. The annoying scrawny man from before carried, with great difficulty, a case to the base of the pole. He placed a gold weight on Yao's right hand and dropped it. Yao fell hard.  
"This represents discipline. And this," he attached a second weight to Yao's other hand, "represents strength. You need both to reach the arrow."  
Yao was able to reach about a quarter of the way up before he slid back down. Each man (or secretly, woman) in the camp tried, and all failed miserably. None so badly as myself, I think. I couldn't even get the weights off the ground. I knew how to do it, obviously. Mulan had been my favorite Disney movie. I'm just not a strength person, I guess.  
"We've got a long way to go," murmured Shang. He took several poles from a pot and threw them to the troops. Yao tripped Ping with hers upon catching it, but I was hit in the head with mine.  
"Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns," Shang said.  
We had martial arts lessons (Yao dropped a scorpion in Ping's clothes, resulting in a very embarrassing hard hit from her), followed by archery lessons, balancing lessons, more martials arts, fishing, dodging abilities, more martial arts, balance, aim, and strength lessons. We did this day in and day out for two weeks.  
Then, on the fifteenth day, Shang told Ping to go home.  
"Try it again, Mulan," I smiled at her.  
When I awoke the next morning, she was sitting on top of the arrow pole, holding both discipline and strength in her hands. Shang allowed her to stay.  
As the weeks passed, all gained strength and more.  
"I've got to get a bath," Mulan said, sighing.  
"Go on," I said. "I'll stay here and train."  
Throughout these past weeks, Mulan and I have become good friends. We are, after all, girls. Mushu never talks to me. I don't know why. He probably thinks I'm here to steal his job. Crikee, however, is a big talker. I can understand cricket, ever since I was transformed into a Chinese person. Probably because I claimed to be a guide.  
I trained some more, knowing that the next day we would be marching off to battle.  
  
**David**  
  
Sora and I looked and looked all over Traverse Town. We saw no sign of Kairi, Riku, or Angel. I was beginning to give up hope of finding them here at all. As soon as we entered the Second District, I knew that this was no longer just a game. It was real. A man lost his heart and became a Heartless, right there in front of us. I knew it was still bothering Sora, but I didn't know what to say. How could I?  
"So.you're from a world different from here, aren't you?" Sora asked. We had been silent for quite a while.  
"Yeah, I am," I said, smiling sadly. "I lived in a place where none of this is real. It's only make believe."  
"Really? What was your world like?"  
"Not so many bright colors or cool clothes," I said, thinking. "I lived really close to the beach, in a place called Norfolk, Virginia. My mom didn't have any legs, and my dad was in the Navy. I never really was curious about the world outside my own. Reading about it was fine with me.  
"But not Angel. She was always looking for something more. She craves adventure, new places, new people. She loved her old friends, as they were always very dear to her. But she was always looking for character, and in the strangest places. She's a writer, a dreamer. A romantic."  
I laughed. "You probably think I'm crazy, to talk about my sister so much."  
"Nah," Sora shook his head. "Just shows that you love her. She is you're sister, after all. Wish I had a brother or sister."  
"Hmm.I'll be your brother," I said, grinning. "Adopted brother, ya know?"  
"Okay," he grinned. "Brother."  
We were silent a few seconds.  
"Let's go see if Cid saw anything yet."  
"Good idea."  
We reached the Accessory Shop again and talked to Cid.  
"Still haven't found 'em yet? Keep your chin up. Take another look around town." We thanked him and headed back out. Maybe Angel had ended up elsewhere.  
"They'll come at you out of nowhere."  
Squall!  
"Who are you?" Sora knelt into a defensive stance.  
"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade and the Keystaff. But why? Why would it choose kids like you?"  
"What's that supposed to mean?" We both said at once.  
"Never mind.now. Let's see those Keys."  
"Not on your life!" I shouted.  
"What? There's no way you're getting this!"  
"All right, then have it your way."  
Squall Lionheart.the man who fought a sorceress and won in Final Fantasy VIII. His Gunblade was legendary to me. It swished through the air. Suddenly, I thought of what my sister had said to me. Would I be able to survive in another world?  
I struck once with the blade of my Keystaff. Then, something overpowered my hands, my thoughts, for just a second. I visualized fire and brimstone of legendary proportions.  
"Rain of Fire!" I shouted. My staff swished through the air, coming to a rest at the horizontal level, both ends of it wreathed in white lights. Tiny flames rained down onto Squall's jacket. He pat his shoulder, putting out the small flame I'd managed. The blunt of the Gunblade struck my forehead and the world went dark once more.  
Apparently I wasn't as strong as I'd hoped.  
  
***  
  
David doesn't seem to understand that I'm not going to make him any more powerful than Sora. ^__^ Mary-Sue-itus in a guy? How often does that happen? David likes Yuffie, but I decided not to use it in this story. Why? He's ten. It's more of the girl-kick-butt type of like than love. Well, please, as always, review. 


	5. Gummi and Wonder

The fifth installment of the Triad of Keys. You know what? I'm getting bored with this one. The only reason I'm even continuing it is because Dee wants to. And it gets him reading books.  
My incentive is that he read a chapter of the fourth Harry Potter book before we write. I ask six questions from the text, and for each one correct, he gets five minutes of write time. Unfortunately, he's a real smart listener. He usually gets them all right! Even one from chapter four, asking for the two Quidditch teams from the World Cup (Bulgaria and Ireland). He didn't even know Bulgaria was a country until I told him!  
Anyway, enough of my rants. Here's the story.  
Chapter 5: Gummi and Wonder ***  
  
"When the Heartless came.everything changed."  
I heard the voice, and registered it as a woman's. The pounding headache between my eyes made me forget most everything else. I moaned in pain as I sat up.  
"Seems like our other guest finally woke up," said the woman. She was scarcely clothed in a yellow tube top and a mini skirt, but not much else. I recognized her as Yuffie, a ninja.  
"David! Are you okay?"  
"Ow." I said, plainly. "Besides a massive migraine, not much. You?"  
"These two were explaining everything," Sora said. "Like the Keyblade."  
"Question," I said, sitting up. "Why did Squall Lionheart attack us?"  
Squall blinked at me. Not quite in surprise, though I knew that's what he meant. He was quite a bit indifferent to the rest of the world, the lone wolf type. I knew a great deal about him from the Final Fantasy game.  
"The name is Leon," he said. "How did you know my past name?"  
"I'm from another world," I grinned. "That can't be too new to ya, am I right?"  
He smirked at me, picking up the Keystaff. It disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in my hands.  
"At least you know a little about what's happening, then," he said. "You don't, however, know why you have that Keystaff."  
"No," I shook my head.  
"Three keys were made, the Triad," Squall said. "The Keyblade, the Keybow, and the Keystaff. The Keyblade was made to lock Kingdom Hearts, the world from which the Heartless, those without hearts, appeared. However, it also will separate the worlds again. No one really knows why the Keybow or the Keystaff was made. It's a mystery, even to King Mickey."  
"So, what you're saying is that you've no idea why I have this staff," I said. "That perhaps it really has not purpose at all?"  
"He didn't say that," said Yuffie. "He said it's a mystery. The Heartless fear all of the Triad separately. We've no idea what would happen if all three keys were together at the same time."  
"Who has the Keybow, then?" Sora asked. (AN-I know he was with Angel, don't worry. He was just focusing more on surviving than being observant, you know?)  
"We don't know," Squall said. "Nor do we know where it is. We do know that it is a maiden who hails from a destroyed world."  
"As do I," I said. "And Sora, I think. Because, the last I saw of Destiny Islands, it was swallowed by darkness."  
  
"Is there any way to restore it?" Sora asked.  
"Only one," Squall said. "Lock Kingdom Hearts."  
"So.we lock Kingdom Hearts, everything goes back to the way it was?" I asked.  
"Basically," Yuffie said.  
"So.we can lock worlds, too, right?" I asked. "The ones overrun by the Heartless?"  
"Yes, each Triad key can lock a door on its own. That's why the Heartless have great fear of the Triad. That's why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what."  
"We didn't ask for this," Sora said.  
"The Triad of Keys chooses their masters," Yuffie said. "They chose you."  
"Sooner or later, the Heartless will find-"  
A soldier Heartless crashed through the window of the hotel room.  
"Leon!"  
"Yuffie, go!" Squall shouted. "Sora, David, come with me. Forget about the little ones, find the leader!"  
Sora and I raced through, cutting down small Heartless on the way, destroying all that lay in our path. We found the door to the Third District and took it. I heard loud screaming, but I didn't find where it was coming from until Sora crashed to the ground behind me.  
"The keys!" both of the fallen said. It was Donald and Goofy, and both were staring at us strangely.  
RUMBLE.  
SHOOM! SHOOOM! SHOOM! The tiles, all around us, shot to the sky, blocking any exit whatsoever. More soldier Heartless appeared, and we cut them down, too. The ground quaked again, and an enormous monster, made up of separate parts, dropped from the sky. It spun around, faster and faster, striking us all, cutting the flesh, chopping wounds into our sides.  
"Donald, go around that side! Attack the foot!" I shouted. "Goofy, that side, the other foot. Sora and I will take care of the hands! Let's go!"  
I hacked away with my magic at the left hand, fire, ice, fire, ice, making the metal, for surely it was metal, brittle. Soon, it cracked and shattered into a million pieces, like glass. Sora's enemy hand was badly beaten and at last shattered, too. Goofy and Donald still worked at the feet, so Sora and I set to work on the head, and at last, the entire beast shattered and left nothing behind. ***  
"So, you were looking for us?" Sora asked as we spoke to Donald and Goofy. They nodded and grinned. Squall approached us.  
"They, too, seek the Triad of Keys,"  
"Hey, why don't you come with us?" Goofy asked. "We can go to other worlds on our vessel."  
"I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi..." Sora glanced to the right, not meeting anyone's eyes.  
"And Angel."  
"Of course," Donald said. Sora glanced up sharply, but I sensed something about the duck's voice that I didn't like.  
"Sora, David, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends."  
"Yeah, I guess." Sora said.  
"Maybe."  
"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" Donald said. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"  
"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!"  
Goofy and Donald grinned at us together.  
"This boat runs on happy faces."  
"Happy?" Sora and I asked together. I chanced a glance at Sora and shared a wink. Putting on our cheesiest grins, we turned back to the duo.  
"That's one funny face!" Goofy and Donald nearly fell over themselves laughing.  
"Okay, why not?" Sora said.  
"Yeah!" I agreed.  
"Donald Duck!"  
"Name's Goofy."  
"I'm Sora."  
"David's my name."  
In a typical football huddle, we placed our hands one on top of the other.  
"All for one and one for all!" ***  
"WOW!" Sora and I shared a grin as we stared up at the huge Gummi Ship. It was pink and orange and green and yellow, all stuck together like some weird puzzle gone wrong. And yet, I liked it. The clear bubble over the top opened with a whoosh and we clambered in, ready to begin our journey.  
"Strap on your crash webbing," said Donald. "It'll be a good ride."  
"Here's a map of different places we can go," said Goofy, handing it back to us. "I've got no clue where to go. Why don't you pick a place first, Sora?"  
"How about this place here, 'Wonderland," he said. "That sounds like a place Kairi would like. Maybe she ended up there."  
"Good idea," Donald said. "The King might try there, too. You never know."  
"Then Wonderland it is!" I shouted. "Let's go!"  
The engines ignited, the sound of a rush of wind and fire and water all at once and we shot out of the Traverse town and toward the two-day journey to Wonderland.  
As the journey continued, Donald, Goofy, Sora, and I began to talk about where we'd come from, and, more importantly, where the last place we'd seen our friends was.  
"I don't know," I said. "One second I'm asleep and the next my sister wakes me up over a storm surge and a tornado picks us up and then.I met Tidus, and then Riku. And then, I was here."  
"Angel and I saw the darkness over the islands, and we went to find Kairi and Riku, and maybe you, and we fought that black creature. And then.she was gone."  
"I worked in the castle," Donald said. "I was the local wizard, and advisor to the king. I walked into his throne room to report to him, and Pluto hands me this note to go find the Triad with Goofy here. King Mickey told me to talk to Leon to get to the keys, and then, we found you."  
Goofy was snoring. The rest of us laughed out loud and followed his example. We fell fast asleep, every last one of us.  
By the time we reached Wonderland, we were all good friends. Sora and I were closest, still, I think, because of all that we had in common. I knew, without even seeing her, that he loved Kairi. And I knew he was still troubled by Riku's decision to be immersed in darkness.  
But most of all, I missed my sister. Wherever Angel was, I would find her. I'm going to find my sister, no matter what it takes.  
"I'm late! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Oh, the queen'll have my head for sure! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" A little white rabbit screeched as soon as we'd tucked the Gummi ship out of sight in a thicket of trees.  
"Follow the bouncing bunny," I shrugged. "Can't be nothing else."  
"Right!" Goofy laughed.  
So down the rabbit hole we went. If cliches mean anything, it's that stupid rabbit hole that you see in nearly every movie that has a weird fantasy thing going on. I've seen this one before. It's the one where a little blonde girl almost gets her head cut off and then the dashing young heroes go save her. Sure enough.  
"OFF WITH HER HEAD!"  
"No, no, no, wait!"  
"Have you anything to say in your defense?"  
We walked onto the scene, staring straight down into a dictatorship- style courtroom, where the only justice was the queen's words and the cards' quick cuts to the throat. Four Asian-style characters in a Disney- style setting. And believe me, I was just now getting to know the very crude, rude difference. No wonder Angel always liked Anime over cartoons.  
"We should help her out," Sora said.  
"But wouldn't that be muddling?"  
"Meddling!" Donald corrected.  
"We should still help her out," I said with a sigh. "I don't see no other heroes about. Maybe we're supposed to help."  
Donald glanced at me.  
"Guilty as charged for the attempted theft of my heart!" the fat queen shouted.  
"That's our cue, boys!" I shouted. "Queen of Hearts, she isn't the one you're lookin' for!"  
"We know who the real culprit is!" Sora added.  
"Do you have any proof?" she asked, her voice bittersweet.  
"Um."  
"Bring me proof!"  
And so we began our trip through the Lotus Forest. Angel always said that the actual places of the game were much larger than it ever depicted. Or the movies, for that matter. Places were always shortened for the sake of pace. It was one of her favorite things about stories.  
Lotus Forest was no different, I guess. And the path was not set in stone, nor would it ever be. A story always shortened the journey. My guess was that it would take us at least a week to get through it. I hoped that we would find our evidence in short time. Alice wasn't going to be so easily helped if we were gone for two weeks.  
"Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"  
"The Cheshire Cat!" I glared at the riddle-maker of Wonderland. "Did you see the Heartless run through here?"  
"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers-but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness. They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all." He faded away.  
"Should we trust him?" Donald asked.  
"To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!"  
"We can trust him," I said. "There are four pieces, but their location is our problem."  
"How do you know all that?" Sora asked.  
"I'm from another dimension," I said. "I think maybe an 'origin', or something like that. Angel was always talking about dimensions. She said literature is what became other dimensions."  
"Literature?"  
"Yeah, like books, movies, and art."  
"So.you know me?"  
".sort of. Come on, we're losing time. I'll explain on the way." ***  
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. What do ya'll think? Honestly! I know it sounds rushed, I'm still writing while listening to Dee, you guys. Please don't judge me on cowrite works with me brother. So yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Review! 


	6. Tung Shao Pass, K?

We've been having some virus troubles, ya'll, so this is extremely late. We're sorry! So, for your pleasure, all the chappies we've written so far! Really!  
  
Chapter 6: Tung Shao Pass, K?  
  
******************** **Angel**  
  
"For a long time we've been marching off to battle," Yao said.  
"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes.  
The march was long, dragging, and, most of all, boring. The men were all singing, and dragging poor Mulan among them. I stifled a giggle as Yao sang "the only woman who'd love him is his mother" of the Council. I always found that part funny, but seeing it was even more hilarious.  
Then nothing happened.  
I sighed, trudging along as the horse pulled the cart. Why did Mushu get to ride in the cart, while Mulan and I had to walk? It wasn't fair!  
"We're approaching the Tung Shao Pass," I murmured. Great battles were often undertoned in Disney movies, quite a bit like the sharp points of the wooden swords back on Destiny Islands.  
I still remembered my mother...She was a kind, gentle woman, with large muscles to back what we already knew—she was in charge. She never struck us once, though. We knew what would happen had we ever toed the line. I remembered my school, my friends, my storms. The storms here in China were snow, always snow. I'd yet to see a rain storm, though I knew they had them.  
Chin Po, Ling, and Yao were all very gentlemanly, kind once you got to know them. They seemed to have this understanding under their skin that neither Mulan nor myself were normal men. Not a one of them ever questioned us, since we began our march.  
Shang and Mulan were friendly enough, I'd wager. Neither knew what was to come. We arrived at the village at the top.  
I covered my mouth. Vomiting now was not an option.  
Disney movies and real life do not equate.  
Blood blanketed the trampled snow, the tiny village burned to cinders. Children lay in the streets, dead, their eyes glinting in the cold starry night. The battleground was not hidden over a hill. Shang saw his father, directly there in front of him, his head speared on his sword, his blood still dripping. Dripping. Dripping.  
"Th-the captain," Yao gulped.  
"Search for survivors!" Shang ordered, his tone sharp, strong. But I saw it in his eyes, black as coal and clear at diamonds. He was shaken.  
We searched, fruitlessly. The only remains of the buildings that weren't charred were the stone walks. Even the local shrine entrance was gone. I nearly tripped over a small bit of pottery. It was a craftsman's bowl, half-painted, a calligraphy stroke half-finished. I knew a small amount of Chinese, and knew what the figure was going to be. With two more strokes of the artist's brush, straight from his own charred hands, I finished it.  
Hope.  
Shang constructed a traditional burial fire, reducing his father's sole remains to ash. He made the warrior's shrine of his father's sword, helmet, and a quick bow. Mulan and I shared a glance before paying our respects as well. A small silken doll and a pottery bowl painted in the single figure of "hope."  
"They've only just left," I said to Shang. "We can still catch them, if we hurry."  
  
"Right," he nodded. "We ride on!"  
His feet in the stirrups, we marched on at a feverish pace. ***David***  
"So, you're saying that dimensions are constructed off of other people's written word? And this story Kingdom Hearts is what we're in?" Sora asked.  
"That's right," I nodded. "It's only a theory, but that's the only thing I've got to go on as to why I'm here."  
"Why does the prophesy include the Keystaff, which you wield?" Donald said, smug.  
"I don't know everything," I said. "It's not like I can just pick the answers out of thin air, you know. I haven't paid much attention to my sis, to tell the truth. I thought all her 'theories' were a load of—"  
"Well, she seems to have gotten one thing right," Sora said. "There are other worlds."  
"Yeah," I sighed. "Hey, where does this forest go, anyway?"  
"I dunno," Goofy laughed. "Don't you know?"  
"No. I only got to see the part where you three met," I said, feeling rather sheepish. "My sister's the master of this game, not—ah!" I tasted dirt just as fast.  
"Gee, are you okay?" Goofy helped me back to my feet as I looked around for what had tripped me.  
"Hey, look!" I picked up the little pink box. "It's a Heartless antennae!"  
"Can we go back now?" Donald said. "One bit of evidence should be enough, right?"  
"If I remember right...Angel said something about it not really mattering much, anyway," I shrugged. "We've been out here for almost a week. Let's go back."  
In those two days, I explained everything that I knew about Kingdom Hearts, the Multiverse, and dimensional travel. Which I'll say right now, isn't much. Angel developed the ideas over a span of five whole years, and I didn't listen a bunch to what she had to say.  
"She started making this stuff up when she was ten?" Sora blinked. "How?"  
"She didn't really realize what she was doing back then, but...well, she didn't have that many friends. People typically don't like other people that are different from them. So, really, it was just me she had.  
  
"So she had a long time by herself. She made up this little blue 'dragon', and called it Mishu. Mishu was from the Alternate Dimension, where only dimensional dragons like her lived. After a while, she stopped pretending that Mishu was real, but she started writing her into stories, including a very warped version of herself in them."  
"What do you mean by 'warped?'"  
"Often times, I didn't read her stories," I said, sheepish. "That's her word for them. I did read one, though, a long time ago."  
"What was it about?"  
"There was a demon after her...I can't remember his name. But apparently she'd used him as a character before, because he had been defeated several times by several different versions of 'Angel.' He took over the body of Angel's 'best friend,' Jonathon, and attempted to pull her into the Abyss.  
"I think that's some kind of purgatory or prison in the Multidimensional worlds. I'm not certain. That version of Angel, was so...weird to me. So unfeeling and bitter. Well, at least the story ended well."  
"How so?"  
"The demon was defeated, her friend returned to her, and she was the Master of that particular Universe."  
"Warped, huh?"  
"Yeah." We reached the entrance back into the Queen's Castle. "Warped." ***Angel***  
Crikee never got the chance to give away our position.  
"Ambush!" cried the nearest soldier.  
Fli-it!  
The arrow struck him down.  
"The cannons!" I shouted.  
Mulan was way ahead of me.  
Huns descended from either side of us, firing arrows. Some missed. Others hit home. Screams, yells, battle roars, all about, pounding in closer and closer in on my head. After all of my training, I still was not truly prepared for battle.  
"Mao, pull yourself together!" Ping shouted, firing her bow and arrow at the Huns. She reloaded her bow and struck another Hun down.  
"All right, let's move!" I yelled, grabbing my Keybow and firing home three of the attacking Huns. More poured over the mountains, and the mountain of snow that would have created an avalanche was nowhere in sight.  
It seemed a long time before I ran out of arrows. I knew that in order to keep up my façade, I would need to eventually. The others had already drawn swords as the Huns came closer, and now, I did too. My Keybow over my shoulder, I glanced down for a quick prayer.  
And stopped short.  
On the ground, a little disc, clear and slightly bluish, it was in the shape of a short arrow. I picked it up, and grew longer, wind flashing about in a somber dance. It was icy cold. The wind whipped higher and faster. My last arrow.  
I aimed it high and it started to glow. The blue light encased arrow and girl alike, and I let it fly. It struck the first Hun.  
CRACK-ACK-ACK-K-K-K!  
The Huns, no, the very air about them, froze stiff and true. Just as the frozen sculpture reached the back, however, the Hun let an arrow of his own fly. It glanced off Ping's side and struck into mine.  
"Mao!"  
I fell back, the warm liquid streaming out of my side. As I slid into darkness, the wind whipped up around me once more, and I shrank. ***David***  
"Now we shall see who the real culprit is!" The Queen lifted the lid on the pink box, revealing the Shadow's Antennae. "What was that?"  
"A Heartless," Goofy laughed.  
"Hmm. You dare tell me what to think? Guards! Attack them! If you let them touch the Tower, it's your heads I'll have!"  
"Donald, Goofy! You guys attack the cards!" I shouted. "Sora and I'll get the Tower!" Donald and Goofy nodded, and started attacking. "Sora, you get that side, I'll get this one!"  
The Tower's wheels exploded in a flash of light as Sora and I finished it off. The cage where Alice was crashed to the ground. She wasn't there.  
"Find her! Bring her back, whatever the cost!" The Queen shouted.  
We sighed and went back into the Lotus Forest. The Cheshire Cat reappeared, but he was followed by a second cat. On its side was a large "K" in black fur.  
"Who's that?" I asked.  
"Who knows?" Donald said.  
"A friend of mine, indeed," nodded the Cheshire Cat. "Help in time, it leads."  
"Hop on," said the other cat. "I'm K. See? K."  
"Uhmmm...sure," I nodded, smiling. "Come on, guys."  
"Hop on, hop on, to the place where Alice vanished, we go."  
The trees flew by, as if nothing. Instead of almost a week in the forest, it was only about five minutes to the other end of Lotus Forest, into the Tea Party Garden. Into the little house, into the door to the ceiling of the Bizarre Room.  
"What on Earth...?"  
I looked up. There was the floor of the same room. The little Doorknob, the bed, the walls. We were standing on the ceiling as if it wasn't even an up, but a down. A tiny table, with candles to be lit, stood upon the center.  
"Light the candles, then we can go," K said. "The Shadows will appear, but they will be few. It is on the Floor that the Bizarre becomes real."  
K hopped across the to table, and Donald, though quite dizzy, lit the candle. They did the same at the other table. Several Heartless appeared, but we destroyed them pretty easily.  
"Now, to meet the Trickmaster," K reared back like a horse and ran to the ground. Literally.  
"I must leave you now," K said. "David, the next world you should visit is ancient China. Your sister is there."  
"Wait!"  
But he was already gone. How did he know where my sister was? And why had he sped everything up like that, making certain that we would rush through? Did he know something?  
Obviously more than I did. ************************************************************************ 


	7. Nihon, Lock, and LOAD!

Here's another one! I won't do this no more, just nod and review, please? My brother worked hard on this! He's actually got a plotline! I'm actually liking it again! ^___^  
  
Chapter 7: Nihon Lock and Load!  
  
***Angel***  
"Who is she? Some kind of demon?"  
"No, no, some god we've displeased!"  
"We've dishonored ourselves!"  
"Soldiers, quiet!"  
"But Captain Lee, she just...but..."  
"I saw it with my own eyes. We will inquire of her when she awakens."  
"I'm awake, I'm awake, ya'll don't have to be so rude," I sighed. A warm blanket had been draped around my shoulders as I sat against a cold rock. I was once again in my baggy, zip-off jeans, black t-shirt, and white hooded jacket. The Hun army was frozen in a sea of ice, spread out before me like one ugly picnic blanket.  
"Forgive us!" Several of the soldiers were cowering at my feet. I laughed at them.  
"Get up, you gibbering bunch of idiots."  
Remembering what I was here to do, I lied through my teeth. "I'm here to find the Keyhole and lead my great-grandmother through her quest safely."  
"Meaning me," Mulan stepped out of the tent, her hair down, a blanket draped around her shoulders as well.  
"Yes. Fa Mulan, my great-grandmother."  
"And who are you?"  
"Angel. Er...Nai Angel. Empress of China. I am from the future."  
"An Empress of the future?" Lee blinked. "Welcome to the past...er..."  
"You needn't try to impress," I smiled. "I am a normal citizen as well. And your friend and ally. Come. Shan Yu is still alive."  
"How do you know—"  
"I know. Let us leave it at that."  
With those few words, we saddled the horses and flew to the capital. I knew without a doubt now that the Huns were in fact Heartless. It is the only way that arrow could have worked on them. Shan Yu would perhaps be the only one not a Heartless. He had opened himself to the darkness.  
Like all those others before him. ***  
"Look at all these peaceful people," I said to myself. "Soon to be so terrified..."  
"What?" Mulan asked. We had both lost our soldier uniforms and donned our old attire. People stared at her and I alike from either side of the street. What a strange sight it must have been to those people of ancient China. A woman walking with soldiers with her head held high. A second woman in strange clothing, walking differently, looking as though she owned the world, and all the people in it.  
Or so it must have seemed to people who'd never heard of freedom of expression.  
I walked down the street, pulling my "great-grandmother" along by her hand. She was frightened to know that soon, she would be confessing everything to the emperor himself. I wouldn't let her be.  
"You do realize that this is the emperor, right?" Mushu said, curling his way around my head. "The big guy?"  
"So? I've got more power in my little Keybow than he has in all of China," I said, smirking. "I'm the leader of my time. You just have to deal with it, runt."  
"Runt? Runt? Who you callin' a runt?"  
"You, pipsqueak."  
"Hey, hey! I'm the indestructible Mushu!"  
"More like the idiotic, moronic Mushu," I said. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a sister, would you?"  
"Yeah, Mishu," he said. "She's back at the temple. Good chick."  
"She's my friend, in the future. She's the one who leads me."  
  
"Where am I?"  
"Being annoying to the both of us, as always. I want to meet her," I said. "See if she's the same, and all."  
"Sure," he shrugged. "Not like you're going anywhere. Hey, if you happen to have a brother, I'd like to be his partner."  
"Actually, I've got two," I said. "Matthew and David. You can be David's partner, if he ever gets here."  
"He's coming?"  
"I hope so," I said. I sighed and held my icy blue arrow in my hand. It was small again, ready to grow and be fired again soon.  
"Hey, what's that?"  
"What?"  
"There's a name on there. It's in a language on an island not too far from here."  
"Really? What's the name of that island?"  
"Nihon."  
I stopped short.  
"Can you read it?"  
"Sure. It says Spirit Detective Hieh." ***David***  
The Cheshire Cat reappeared at the top of the table and we followed it. K was nowhere in sight, but neither was the "Trickmaster." The Cheshire Cat smiled and faded out again.  
"The shadows should be here soon. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!"  
Down from the ceiling dropped a creature quite light a big black accordion. He was many more colors and shapes, but overall, he was mostly black, folded over and over and over again. It looked as if he had a lot of fun with springs.  
After a moment's hesitation, I whipped out my Keystaff. I exchanged a quick glance between my fellows and we understood as one.  
"ATTACK!"  
Two magic strikes, a Keyblade, and a really big shield brought the big monster to its knees. We hit the head several times.  
"RAIN OF FIRE!" I shouted and the room grew dark as balls and brimstone flew down and struck the Trickmaster.  
He wasn't exactly a Trickmaster. He was so easily defeated that I quickly understood the nature of the game I was in. You grow strong and you have friends and a strong heart and you always won.  
Right?  
"Hey, look! A keyhole!" Goofy pointed to the Doorknob, where a large keyhole had appeared.  
"Lock and load?" I grinned at Sora.  
"Let's do it."  
"One, two, three!"  
Staff and Blade crossed in a fury of white light, a flash exploded, darkening the room with its sheer brightness. A golden light emitted from both keys and flew straight into the door. With a huge CLICK we knew our job here was done.  
"Let's go," I said.  
"Hey, Donald," Sora said as we climbed into the Gummi Ship. "Any idea where this Ancient China is that K was talking about."  
"Yeah," Donald pointed to a large map on the screen. "Right there. Goofy, fire up the engines."  
And away we flew to my sister and Ancient China. ***Hollow Bastion***  
"Well done, children," said the voice in the shadows.  
"Well done? They locked Wonderland! They're on to us, and all you can say is 'well done?!' Pathetic, just pathetic."  
"On the contrary, friend," said the voice. "The more worlds they lock, the more difficult they've made the End of the World. When they face me, despite all that those meddling Spirit Detectives have done, they will fail. And Kingdom Hearts will be mine."  
"What could they possibly know about the Heartless? They fight demons! At least demons have hearts!"  
"What do you know of demons, that I do not? After all, I am one."  
"True."  
And no one heard them laugh, for we had left them alone. ***Angel***  
We ran to the city, hoping that Shan Yu hadn't made it there just yet. The entire population of the main city was gathered in the streets. But instead of celebrations, all were terrified.  
"Shan Yu has the emperor!" shouted several of the people to us.  
"Thanks, we'll take it from here," I said. Most of the people gawked at me as if I were some kind of giant jellyfish floating in the sky.  
"Zap," I muttered.  
"What?"  
"Nothin', Mulan," I said. "Crikee, what's up with all that 'lucky' talk. You ain't lucky."  
Crikee chirped. Mushu didn't say anything. Somehow, I knew he already knew. The remaining soldiers, those not struck down by the Hun's arrows, marched onward, a quick double-step to their pace. The emperor was in danger.  
"They've barricaded the doors," I said. "Come on." I helped lift a large statue up. Maybe if we all worked together, since there were more of us, we'd be able to break it down. Apparently, I was wrong.  
"All right, all right! This ain't gonna work," I said. "Mulan, any ideas?"  
"I've got an idea," she said.  
"Thank the gods," I muttered, knowing quite well that there weren't any, but hey, that's what they believed and I wasn't gonna mess with it.  
The other soldiers continued with the statue, hoping to help by directing Shan Yu's attention elsewhere. While they did that, Mulan and I dressed Yao, Shin Po, Captain Lee (in a lovely shade of peach), and Ling into concubine dresses. I shed my jacket and used it to scale the colossal stone cylinders into the emperor's palace. Sure enough, he had three guards, his bird, and a small barricade against the door on the tallest floor, blocking our way yet again to the emperor.  
Mulan and I held back as the four gentlemen in dresses distracted and later knocked out the three guards, while Mushu created a nice Mongolian barbeque for the ride home. While the trio kept the guards unconscious and unhappy, Lee, Mulan, and I burst through the doors and to the hunchbacked Shan Yu and the tall, bald emperor. To tell you the truth, he looked like an old man dressed for bed, and just wanting to go home in peace. Now who can argue with that?  
Shan Yu's really crooked sword seemed to argue quite nicely, actually. His attention away from the emperor, and toward us, he accidentally made a hairline incision into the poor old man's neck. Lee cut off to one side, while Mulan to the other, and I was left at the door.  
"Two women and a little boy," said Shan Yu. "Is this the only army left to you, old man?"  
The emperor was silent.  
"Hey, you," I said, feeling quite a lot less braver than I sounded. "Whacha doin'?"  
"What am I doing?" Shan Yu took the sword from the emperor's throat. It was working. "I'm taking over China, little woman." He approached me, the crooked, wicked sword coming closer. I swallowed hard. The blade was sharp enough to split hairs. I could just imagine what it could do it my chest or limbs or head or...  
Best not to think about it.  
"But why?" I asked, still brave. "China's so overrated, anyway. I know. I'm empress. Vietnam is so much better."  
"Viet-who?" he swung his sword level with my jugular. "What are you trying to do, woman? Are you married to this man?"  
He gestured back, but didn't say anything. His attention fully on me, I circled around so he wouldn't see what was going on right behind him. I kept my own eyes focused on his black depths, but I paid close attention to the fact that the others were all making their way down a rope very quickly. Lee and Mulan were soon the only ones left besides me.  
"No," I shook my head. "You don't seem to understand, man. I'm not from this time period. Hell, I'm not even from this universe. You can't kill me."  
"Is that so?"  
"I wouldn't be willing to find out," I lunged at him, wrenched the sword from his grasp and tossed it to Mulan. He roared and reached for her, but she tossed it to Lee. Back, forth, forward, backward, up, down, forward, me, Lee, Mulan, it never ended. Finally, I'd had enough. I threw it over the edge and shouted down for people to watch out.  
He roared aloud as he soon figured out exactly what I'd done.  
"Woman!" he shouted, but my arrows were already bowed and aimed right between his slim black eyes.  
"You don't know what a woman can do, until she's mad," I said. "Good- bye, Shan Yu." The bow sang, twanged, and with a loud PLOP! he was gone, over the edge, tumbling down, down, down below.  
Shan Yu erupted into a zillion black fragments and vanished.  
Mulan, Lee, and I slid down the rope, to the emperor, our friends, and China. The Keyhole, as I'd expected it to, appeared in the emperor's hand, inside a little pendant. He smiled at me, the same old man's smile I'd received many times from my grandfather.  
"I believe this is what you are searching for, Lady Angel."  
"Yes, sir," I smiled. I held up my Keybow, and in a flash of silver light, a loud click, and a line from the head of my bow to the inside of the pendant, it vanished.  
"This world is locked," I said. "At last."  
Mulan refused her position as the emperor's council, as she always had, and climbed on her horse's back, taking me with her. The emperor presented her with his crest and the sword of Shan Yu, knowing they would do me no good, I supposed. He did, however, give me the pendant that I had used to lock this world.  
"Safe journey, Lady," he said. "Angels come only once in a dynasty."  
I cocked my head at him, wondering how he knew my name, but shrugged it off. We flew like the wind to Mulan's home, where I hoped to find a way to find my brother. 


	8. Angel's World

A couple of quick disclaimers: We don't own nothing you recognize as otherwise. That includes references to Yu Yu Hakushu, Cardcaptor Sakura, Lord of the Rings, Bionicle, and anything else we might throw in here. Angel's World is a big place—scary place to visit. I should know. I live there. Dirken is mine. The Dimensional Theory is mine. No stealing!  
  
Chapter 8: Angel's World  
  
***David***  
Sora, Goofy, Donald, and I had been zipping through the Gummi Space for almost a week when we reached our destination, a small world from which the Great Wall shone new. The little indicator light kept flashing "Ancient China," telling us we had indeed reached our destination. Donald brought the ship to a smooth landing, and with a hiss of air, we walked down the ship's plank to the grassy ground, below a beautiful cherry blossom tree.  
"David?"  
"Angel?"  
"DAVID!"  
  
"ANGEL!"  
  
"Please stop that," she said, her eyes twinkling merrily. "How ya been, bro?"  
"Peaches and cream," I grinned. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, I'd like you to meet my sister, Angel."  
After much conversation, Donald and Goofy were both very curious to hear about Angel's adventures in Ancient China. Angel smiled and told us that she'd done nothing much, and asked only what we'd done. Elated, I related the entire story back to her in a few short hours.  
By this time, Mulan and her father came round the tree. Mulan's eyes widened, then she smiled.  
"Your brother?" she asked.  
"Wha—how—when—?"  
Apparently she hadn't said anything about me.  
"You spoke much of him in your sleep," Mulan said. "You must be very happy to be reunited with him."  
Angel only smiled. I noticed a great change had overcome her. Sure, her clothes had changed—but there was something else. Her figure, her entire mind, even, seemed to have changed. Then I realized it. Angel was happy.  
"Well," she said after a moment's pause. "Mulan, we must be going."  
"Now hold on a minute there!" Mushu scrambled up on all four claws, sitting on Angel's shoulder. "This is your brother?"  
"That's him," Angel said.  
"The god Chi is your brother."  
"Uh...I'm not a god," I said.  
There was a quick exchange of protest from Mulan, Mushu, and Mr. Fa, but by and large, Mushu explained the conversation he'd had with Angel a while ago. Mushu agreed, after a squelched protest from Donald, to retrieve his sister and the two dragons would come with us.  
Angel stayed behind to say goodbye to Mulan, but soon we were aboard the Gummi Ship once again, headed for another world near us. It was a mystery world, a world King Mickey didn't know what was what on.  
"Hey, Angel, what's this?" I ran my hand along the form of a simple- looking bow and a quiver full of arrows. I suspected that Mulan had given it to her, but it didn't look like a Chinese bow.  
"It's my Keybow. What's that?"  
"Wha-at?!"  
"That's his Keystaff," Sora said. "And this is my Keyblade. Donald said we're some kind of Triad."  
And Donald related the story to Angel.  
The Keyblade, the Keybow, and the Keystaff. The Keyblade was made to lock Kingdom Hearts, the world from which the Heartless, those without hearts, appeared. However, it also will separate the worlds again. No one really knows why the Keybow or the Keystaff was made. It's a mystery, even to King Mickey.  
I remembered it the way Squall had recounted it. How each Key could lock doors. But why so many? Why did there need to be three keys? Angel was as stumped as I was, but she didn't look too surprised about the matter.  
Sora settled in on the seat, un-strapping his crash webbing as the stars streaked by outside the windows. It would take three days to get to the next world. If nothing else, I was glad that my sister was safe and by my side once again. ***Angel***  
"So, babe, where were you guys?" I asked, smiling.  
"Wonderland," David said. "Lotus Forest was too big for my liking."  
"It was always the shortest, actually." He only groaned.  
"Did you really create dimensions," Goofy asked.  
"Whole worlds?" Sora.  
"Yeah," I nodded.  
"See!" David yelled. "I wasn't lying!"  
"Tell us about these stories," Donald said. "These theories."  
I paused a moment, considered them, and smiled. "I'll tell you everything I know. Five years ago, a little blue dragon told me that I was a Creator. It was in my capabilities to create places, people. I could populate whole worlds with my characters, and, over time, I did.  
"I began to write about dimensions, how the ultimate Creator made everything so He could contain all the evil in the world. Into one world. Evil escaped, in the form of darkness. Not necessarily the Heartless, but demons, creatures, beasts, and even humans and humanoids. I made a theory of my own a while ago, though. Darkness is not complete, in anything. Always there is gray, even in the purest.  
"I always dreamt of going to another dimension, but it was only in stories that anyone could. So always, I would write about them. Demons in my stories were just as capable of crossing over and people were, and angels. I think that's where my problems erupted. By allowing the evil to seep through the cracks...I think I've enabled the Heartless to travel.  
"There always was a mastermind behind everything, though. Ansem for here. But, somehow...I don't know, I feel as if he isn't the only one anymore. He believes so fervently in the darkness...Anyway, um...you get the gist, right?"  
The boys nodded dumbly.  
After a moment of silence, David cut through it again.  
"Hey, sis? What's that, in your jacket?"  
"What?"  
"This," he picked up a blue crystal, lodged in the threads of my jacket. I blinked, and smiled.  
"Thanks." It was a shard of my ice arrow. I took it out and replaced the shard in the head of the arrow. It flashed white-blue light, and took shape again. The Japanese symbols morphed into English.  
"Spirit Detective Hieh. Huh. David. We're not in Kingdom Hearts anymore. I think we're in my world."  
"What?!"  
"The worlds I threw together in my writing. There is no other possibility. And that means, quite frankly, that Ansem is no longer our bad guy."  
  
"Then who the heck is?"  
"Dirken. And he's coming for me all over again." ***David***  
We finally arrived at our destination world. The console of the Gummi Ship beeped and revealed the name of the world: The Clow. I didn't immediately recognize it, but Angel grinned as she watched the clouds come up toward us. She only smiled like that when she knew something. I grinned too. My sister was happy.  
Which meant she had some idea of what was going on.  
"Where are we, Angel?"  
"Cardcaptor Sakura. I wrote a very short story about it once, through someone else's eyes. I never finished it because I never read the last book of the series."  
"What is this place?" Donald asked.  
"The Clow," Goofy pointed out.  
"I think he meant what sort of place it is," Sora said. "I'm sort of curious myself."  
"It's a magic world," Angel said. "A man formed nineteen cards, combining Chinese and English magic into them. A little girl is collecting them, making them her own. I don't want to spoil it until we've seen where they are."  
We climbed off the ship, right into the middle of a park. The sun was just rising over the horizon, revealing in the light several people. Two small girls, two small boys, two teenage boys, a teenage girl, and two large, feline-like creatures, all facing a tall man behind whom we'd just landed our Gummi Ship.  
Needless to say, much explaining was needed on all parties.  
The park exploded in noise and shouts hopeful of explanation.  
"Calm down, everyone," said one of the small boys.  
"Please!" Angel added.  
"Come back to my house, I will explain everything. I think."  
"I will explain what he can't!" Angel said, grinning. "Hi, Eriol, long time, no see."  
"It's been a while yet, Sira."  
"Sira?" I blinked. "Angel, who's he talking about?"  
Angel only smiled.  
We followed the rather large party, passing several awakening peoples. It looked as if the whole town had fallen asleep. Angel frowned. A man with swirling eyes was staring at them as though unable to believe that he was even here on Earth.  
"Drunk," she muttered. "Hey, fella, you okay?"  
"Yers, shma'amsh!" he said, grinning foolishly. "Shain'tsh a shurty day, yahsh?"  
"Indeed," Angel replied coolly.  
We passed the man and finally arrived at a rather large house. Not exactly a mansion, in so many terms, but still very big. Bigness described it quite well, as we passed the large, heavy oak door and into a vast room containing only a table, a high-backed, winged chair, and an already blazing fireplace.  
After a short description of the current mission on our heads, Eriol gave a quick nod. He frowned and began to speak.  
"These Heartless you speak of, are they black with pointed limbs, much like a wingless fly, about a half meter tall?"  
"The Shadow Heartless," Angel nodded. "You've seen them, then?"  
"No. I've only just begun to hear of the creatures through my fortune telling. It would be a great aid to our world if you would lock the door before they can get through."  
"Do you know where it is?" I asked.  
Eriol heaved a great sigh, long beyond his years. "No. I have narrowed it down a ways, but the magic properties of darkness are far beyond my powers. At least now that Fujitaka has half of them."  
"Maybe...Maybe Li could help them," Sakura said.  
"I'm afraid his powers are much too weak. His mother's, however...Syaoran, do you suppose your mother would aid us?"  
"Of course."  
"There is a telephone in the hall. Please, explain the situation to her. Unless she already knows.  
"It is good to see you again, Sira. Much time has passed."  
"Too much, Clow," Angel smiled knowingly. "What became of your mistress?"  
"Please," he waved a hand. "Joke no longer about that woman. She used her magic for evil—"  
"As I told you she would."  
Every person in the room, including myself, stared between the two. It was obvious they knew each other far better than even I could have predicted.  
"Angel...why does he keep calling you Sira?"  
"It's my name, in this dimension. Each person has multiples in other dimensions, though they don't necessarily share the same name. For example, 'I' was Mulan in Ancient China. That's why I looked like her so much when I 'transformed' the way I did."  
"You did a lot more in China than you've let on," I said.  
"Duh, kid. I did a lot more than you'd like to think about."  
I took her in again, seeing the thinner, firmer frame of her body, of her mind. Angel had changed in a few short weeks. She wasn't quite the same person. My sister had begun to adapt to her own world.  
And it was scaring me.  
Silence reigned in the room for a moment. Only the distant voice of Syaoran on the telephone could be heard. The cradle gave a quick click as he hung up and returned to the room.  
"She said it's in Tomoeda. That is all she knows. She has a word for Sira or Angel, whatever. A note she found in a trunk.  
  
Ice the demon,  
Fire the Papers,  
Show no mercy,  
In this day of Capers.  
  
"Her grandmother gave it to her, after thirty years of a single dream. Any meaning to you?"  
"Yes," Angel smiled gratefully. "It was a note to myself where we could find the Keyhole."  
"How did you—"  
"Don't ask, D," Angel smiled. "This is not your concern."  
"Of course it's my concern! Angel, we've got to find that Keyhole and lock it up—"  
"Who said anything about 'we,'" Angel said. "I don't care, David. I was better off without you. You didn't survive on your own, kid! You survived only because Sora helped you. If you were all by yourself, you wouldn't make it. I made it. I adapted. I'm the ultimate of our species, and, unfortunately for your puny head, the only female in this group. Therefore, I am superior."  
She stomped out, leaving very stunned and confused people behind. She left behind, most of all, me. Her words had struck home. She was right. Angel was right. I wasn't cut out to be here. It was only through sheer dumb luck that I'd done anything. Sakura broke from the crowd, glanced at me, Eriol, and Syaoran, and raced after Angel.  
"David, don't listen to her, she isn't—"  
"She's right, Sora," I said. "I would never have survived without you and Donald and Goofy. She's right."  
I sat down on the floor and cried.  
I realized what I was doing and cried more for my weakness. 


	9. Heartless Attack

Excuse my stupidity. Angel loves Legolas. Angel loves Pippin. Angel loves Sam. Best to get it out of the way here. ^__^  
  
Chapter 9: Heartless Attack  
  
***Angel***  
I had to think. I had to get away from there, from those people. Too many people, too many opinions, too many bits of past and likeness and too much love and hate and complications. I knew where the Keyhole was. Unfortunately, I knew what closing it off meant, too.  
You're probably extremely confused by now.  
Don't worry. You'll understand, someday.  
"Excuse me?"  
"Hello," I faced Sakura. "Why'd you follow?"  
"I-I'm sorry...I was worried, and—"  
"Acting fully within your character," I smiled sadly. "Ms. Kinomoto, do you quite understand what is happening here?"  
"No."  
"You don't have to know much," I said. "I sort of knew Clow when he was still young. We were friends, allies, between the three of us."  
"His mistress," Sakura said.  
"Yeah. Even now I don't remember her name. But I remembered her character, who she was, why she acted the way she did. Before I left, I told Clow to watch her, to wait. He knew as well as I did, but he was blinded by compassion. All men are at one point or another."  
"I take it you don't trust men."  
"No. I don't. Look, I need to go close off this Keyhole. It's a bit more personal for me than David and the others would like to know. I don't want them seeing the Keyhole. Eriol understands, that's why he let me leave."  
"Did you—"  
"No. I never loved Clow."  
Sakura smiled gently, and revealed a small deck of cards in her hands. She took one out and showed me The Windy, a card I knew well.  
"It's strange now. These cards are basically mine now. Mine to keep. Or mine to give. This was the first card I ever caught."  
"I know," I said.  
"Right before I met her, I caught a card. I think...I want you to have that card. I don't know if you'll be able to use it at all. I don't know what kind of magic you are or any of that. But still, I want you to have it."  
"I don't want any of your cards, Sakura. They're yours."  
"Your name's Angel, right?"  
"Yes."  
"Here, it was Sira, right?"  
"Yes."  
"Technically, you're connected to me, and my dad, and Eriol and Mr. Clow, right?"  
"Yes...?"  
"I want you to be able to remember me. I know what'll happen when you close Kingdom Hearts. You won't be able to come back, Creator or not. So...I want you to have this card."  
She pressed the Sakura Card into my hands firmly. Hesitantly, I glanced at it.  
"The Arrow Card?"  
"It connects us all."  
"It connects us all?"  
"Yes. Take it. Keep it. Use it. Now go find your Keyhole."  
"It's right here in front of me. Ice the demons, Fire the Papers, Show no mercy, In this day of Capers. It's a spell, to give the Arrow Card its power. This whole thing was arranged, just as Clow predicted. You see? You were right.  
"We are all connected."  
The wind whipped around us again. Lights emitted from every corner of the horizon, as at last the Keyhole, Sakura's own Book of the Clow, was locked away.  
"Let's return," I said. "I've got a lot of explaining to do."   
Back at Eriol's mansion, Sakura and I explained that the whole thing was a setup and I apologized to my brother. It had been, at best, the shortest, easiest solution to my little problem. The boys all climbed back aboard the Gummi Ship, but I hung back.  
"Eriol...Clow...I'm sorry to rush like this." I pulled him aside, into another room. Out of earshot, out of eyesight.  
"Quite all right. Still out saving the world, Sira, as always. Some things never change."  
"And you're still a little boy, Clow," I smiled. "Except now you've got the body."  
"I will see you again...Kaho Miyazaki."  
"I wish you wouldn't refer to me by my present-day name, Eriol." I knelt and sighed beside him. "Eriol, I may never return in this form. Please, love me in my other form, not this one. I do love you, but...it just wasn't meant to be."  
"I understand, Angel. Perhaps you'd better go..."  
"I think so," I gave him a quick kiss and turned my back, never to return. ***David***  
"It was real nice of you to not inform us of this until after we landed," I said as Angel climbed back aboard the Gummi Ship. "Why didn't you just say anything?"  
"Because...I...I needed Sakura not to know. She needed to come to me of her own free will."  
"And you knew this how?"  
"I just know," Angel said. "All right? I know. It's weird, but I don't know why I know what I know when I already knew it. Make any sense whatsoever?"  
"Not a drop," I said dryly.  
"Then let it drop."  
I sighed and buckled my crash webbing.  
"Incoming!" Goofy shouted.  
"The Heartless are attacking!"  
TSEW! TSEW! TSEW!  
CRASH!  
"We're going to crash into the other ship!"  
"AHHHHH!!"  
"Help!"  
"Get in the escape pod!"  
Angel and Sora clambered into the tiny pod, and I waited while Donald attempted to destroy the other ship. We crashed into it, sending sparks all over the front. With a resounding scrape and a terrible concussion, sparks flew up in the air. Goofy wobbled back and landed right on top of me, his long gangly foot hitting the "Send Pod" button.  
Simultaneously, Donald hit the hyperdrive.  
I heard the sounds of branches scraping the outer hull, then a splash as everything went dark. ***Angel***  
The escape pod swayed as gravity took hold of us. Sora was already out cold, but I watched as the hull burned bright through the atmosphere of the new world. The pod blinked with an annoyingly pleasant beeping noise. The screen flashed the last bit of information I expected to see: Middle Earth.  
"What the heck?" I shouted. Alarms started blaring at that particular moment, the red lights flashing brilliantly in my eyes. The pod jerked suddenly and red swam in my vision as at last we landed. My head hit the ceiling again, and I saw a new kind of red and a new kind of light.   
"Gilgalad was an elven king, of them the harpers sadly sing, the last whose realm was fair and free, between the mountains and the sea..." Singing...That voice...  
I recognized that voice. The new red I'd seen earlier was gone, replaced by the dim recollections of my eyelids. But that light...I could see it still, even with my eyes closed. Was I imagining things?  
"His sword was long, his lance was keen, his shining helm afar was seen—"  
Oh, please! I thought. Please, don't stop singing.  
"Lady? Have you awakened?"  
The only answer I really had for him was a moan. He chuckled and I could feel his smile. I could feel it, like a breath of fresh air.  
URRRRGGSSSssssssss...URRRRRRRRGGSSSSssssss  
He chuckled again. "Seems your friend finally came back."  
My eyes snapped open despite the harsh sudden light. "Sora! Is he okay?"  
Everything froze.  
Everything.  
Exquisite linens, white, pure, golden light, dancing about, a window bathed in both, two beds, one for me and the other for—  
URRRRGGGSsssss  
Sora.  
The man who was singing was no man at all. He was an elf. A blond elf. An elf whose name rang through my head quite clearly, whose white blonde hair and tantalizing eyes and absolute, unfettered, unbelievable face stared straight into mine. He was shocked. He had every right to be.  
My mouth dropped.  
I closed it, trying to find any amount of brain process.  
It dropped again, but no sound came out.  
I closed it again.  
Open.  
Close.  
Open. "L-L-Legolas? Legolas Greenleaf?"  
"Yes. How do you know me?"  
I ignored him. "Oh. My. God. Oh. My. Oh. Dear. Um...hi?"  
He blinked. "Hello to you too, Miss...?"  
My mouth moved accordingly for about a minute. "A-Angel. Angel G- Galis."  
"You seem surprised to see me Miss Angel Galis. How do you know my name?"  
"Er...Um...I forgot." A creeping blush crossed my cheeks.  
Legolas smiled. I wish he'd do that all the time. "I'm sure you'll remember. If you'll excuse me, I must get to a meeting."  
  
"Sir? May I...go with you?"  
"What about your friend?"  
Instead of me answering, Sora did. "I'm awake! Angel, where are we?"  
"Er..."  
"Rivendell. Welcome, Sir Sora. May I ask your lineage?"  
"He forgot...a long time ago," I said quickly. Sora cocked an eyebrow at me, then nodded. Extremely stupidly, I might add.  
In the end, we made our way through the city to Elrond's Council, where we sat on the ground beside the extremely short Frodo. Of course, I wasn't to know that, so I said nothing. He looked at us strangely, but the matter at hand was more pressing.  
"The Orcs and their new allies are moving swiftly toward us as we speak," Elrond said, commanding the attention of all in the room, including the dwarves, the Men, the Elves, and several other species.  
"We must find the prophesied Key and lock them out. We must destroy the Ring, before Sauron's forces arrive."  
Sora opened his mouth, but I covered it quick. I shook my head at him, telling him to wait. He didn't understand quite yet, but he understood that I wanted him to wait.  
Silence fell.  
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do away with the thing!" Gimili stood and raised his ax. As expected, it did nothing. It got rid of a rather nasty-looking ax, though.  
"The Ring cannot be destroyed by any weapon we here hold. It was born of the fires of Mordor and there it must be unmade. Who will take it there?"  
Silence.  
More silence.  
Where were the crickets when you needed them?  
More.  
More silence.  
Silence.  
And then...  
"I will take it!" Frodo said.  
"I want to help!" I shouted, taking my feet back from the ground.  
"You? But you're only a child, and a woman at that," said one of the Men, probably Boromir.  
"I wield the Key," I said, casting a nasty glance in the Man's direction. "As does my buddy Sora. Together, we will lock your Keyhole. We've done it before." I brandished the Keybow at them.  
Sora looked at me, then at Frodo, then at Elrond. "But Angel, do you even know the way?"  
I blushed. "No."  
"I will help you bear this burden," a wizened man, a wizard, graying but far from feeble, marched forward.  
"If by my life or death I can protect you three, I will," said Aragorn, a Man through and through. He stared straight at Frodo.  
"I will aid you, in any way I can," Legolas stepped forward. He smiled and gestured to my Keybow. "I will help you fire more true than an elf, Angel. You have my bow."  
I smiled.  
"And my ax," Gimli said.  
"And my sword," the man I supposed was Boromir said.  
"Hey!" shouted Sam, coming from the bushes. "Mr. Frodo isn't going anywhere without me."  
"Indeed, it is highly impossible to separate you, even when he is invited to a highly secret Council and you are not."  
"We're coming too!" Merry shouted from the door. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!"  
"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of...mission. Quest. Thing."  
"Well, that rules you out, then," Merry and I said in unison. He glanced at me, as did everyone else.  
Now the crickets start.  
"Eleven companions...the Fellowship of the Ring."  
"So, where are we going?" Pippin asked. 


End file.
